US and Russian defense ministers meet for first time, Mattis expresses condolences on Kerch tragedy

20 Oct in 11:30

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis met his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu for the first time on Saturday. After shaking hands, the two men briefly talked about the recent horrific school shooting in Kerch, RT reports.

Shoigu and Mattis spoke with each other on the sidelines of a defense and security-themed event in Singapore, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. The officials met while making their way to a conference hall for a planned session with defense ministers of the ASEAN nations.

The Pentagon chief expressed his condolences regarding the recent deadly tech college shooting in the Russian city of Kerch. On Wednesday, an 18-year-old student entered the school premises armed with a hunting shotgun and killed 20 people, most of whom were his teenage schoolmates.

According to the ministry, Mattis said that Americans understand how Russians feel since similar tragedies have happened in the US. Shoigu thanked Mattis for his sympathies, noting that such shootings have become more common, and that the countries need to do all they can to prevent them.